Sadiq Khan MP heard from tech leaders on the barriers to success and opportunities for growth for tech companies operating in London.

Labour mayoral candidate Sadiq Khan MP yesterday met with tech leaders to hear about the barriers to success and opportunities for growth for tech companies in London.

At a dinner hosted by techUK, our President Jacqueline de Rojas outlined the scale of the challenge to 2020 for London. Jacqueline highlighted that whilst London has been ranked number one city in Europe for supporting both startups and scale-ups we cannot be complacent, and leadership from the mayor will be essential to build from that position. The mayor is uniquely placed to tackle many things that matter to our industry – from connectivity, transport, property, housing, policing and cybercrime through to investment and funding through to skills, diversity and migration. Jacqueline asked Sadiq what a truly Digital London Government looked like to him, and explained that the tech community was looking for a 2015 mayor with the instincts to back innovation and creative disruption.

Sadiq was particularly interested in tackling the skills shortage challenge faced by companies of all sizes and heard from business leaders on how the mayoral office and business can better work together to ensure young Londoners are better represented in the tech industry. Sadiq gathered views from tech companies on a range of areas including London's relationship with Europe, tackling the housing shortage, challenges to improving London's broadband connectivity, and how London Government could open up more data to unleash new innovations.

About techUK

techUK represents the companies and technologies that are defining today the world that we will live in tomorrow. Around 850 companies are members of techUK. Collectively they employ approximately 700,000 people, about half of all tech sector jobs in the UK. These companies range from leading FTSE 100 companies to new innovative start-ups. The majority of our members are small and medium-sized businesses.

techUK is committed to helping its members grow, by:

• Developing markets

• Developing networks

• Reducing business costs and risks

techUK is the trading name for Information Technology Telecommunications and Electronics Association, a company limited by guarantee.